Productive Finale Yields Legislative Results

At the final Legislative Meeting of the two-year legislative session known as Council Period 23, a number of solid, consensus legislative successes were achieved. Predictably, since bills that do not get both of their two required Council votes prior to the end of one two-year Council Period must largely recommence the legislative process in the next one, the votes detailed below almost entirely fall into this “second and final” vote category.

A COVID-related measure was passed to ensure that larger employers who laid off staff due to the pandemic are required to offer those same employees an opportunity to return to their jobs if the employer is hiring for similar roles. Amendments to the measure changed the workforce size applicability from 35 to 50 and the expiration date from 2025 to 2023.

An omnibus public safety measure was approved that included, among other measures, a ban on homemade, so-called “ghost guns” and an expanded“second look” measure that allows incarcerated individuals who committed crimes while age 18 to 24 to apply to have their sentences reviewed after serving fifteen or more years.

A sanctuary values measure was also approved, which would make permanent and extend immigrant protections included in a prior temporary bill. The bill limits cooperation between law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an effort to avoid separation of immigrant families and unnecessary deportations. A loophole in the prior measure that allowed for ICE arrests in federal courthouses was closed in the permanent version of the bill.

A ban on cashless retailers was passed with an amendment that would exempt businesses with “reverse ATMs” from the measure. These reverse ATMs enable shoppers to insert cash, fee-free, in exchange for a payment card that is then used to pay the merchant. A third-party vendor would then collect the cash from the machine. This amendment threads the legislative needle by ensuring the objective of the bill is met (ensuring DC’s significant unbanked population can shop in all DC businesses) while resolving a principal concern of businesses (that handling cash is time-consuming and potentially hazardous).

Another measure that passed was the “Tony Hunter and Bella Evangelista Panic Defense Prohibition Act,” which bans the supposed “gay panic defense.” It is named in honor of two victims of crimes the so-called defense might have falsely excused.

Among other measures receiving final approval at the most recent meeting:

• The breakup of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs into a Department of Buildings (overseeing construction, housing safety, and property maintenance) and a Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (overseeing DCRA’s other former responsibilities, including consumer-facing services and occupational licensing).
• A broad ban on non-compete agreements for employees. An exception was written into the bill for highly-paid medical professionals.
• A revision to the initiative/referendum process to facilitate clearer and more accurate wording for such measures
• Establishment of a Metro Transit Police Complaints board, and other accountability measures
• A change in the membership of the new Commission on Poverty to ensure that a majority of its members are experiencing poverty
• An extension of the current public health emergency until March 31, 2021

Given that it was the last meeting of the 2019-2020 Council Period, the final minutes of the meeting were dedicated to a heartfelt farewell to departing Councilmembers David Grosso and Brandon Todd. Their terms will end at noon on January 2, and the latest Legislative Meeting provided an opportunity for their colleagues to wish them well, and for the departing councilmembers to say goodbye to the Council.

The Council will hold an Administrative Meeting on December 22, at which the swearing-in ceremony, Legislative Meeting schedule, and committee assignments for the upcoming Council Period 24 will be discussed.